Struggling in the polls a few months before the elections, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak created a surprise on Monday by recalling to the government his predecessor David Cameron, the man of the Brexit referendum, as head of diplomacy.
Expected for months, a change in the conservative government seemed inevitable to dismiss the very right-wing Minister of the Interior, Suella Braverman, whose criticism of the police last week constituted one provocation too many.
But no one saw coming the return to the forefront, at 57, of David Cameron, who had called the Brexit referendum and campaigned for remaining in the European Union, his failure plunging his party and the United Kingdom into several years of heartbreak.
The man who was prime minister from 2010 to 2016 said he wanted to use his experience to address the “vital challenges” of the moment, citing “the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East”.
“I disagreed with some particular decisions but politics is teamwork […] and I think Rishi Sunak is a good Prime Minister who is doing a difficult job in a difficult time,” he justified.
Refocusing?
Having arrived at Downing Street for a little over a year, after the scandals of the Boris Johnson era, then the short-lived Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, a 43-year-old ex-investment banker, needed to make an impression to try to get back on track.
As the legislative elections scheduled for no later than January 2025 approach, his party, in power for almost 14 years, is far behind Labor in the polls, in a gloomy economic context.
The dismissal of Suella Braverman, a figure on the right wing of the majority with declared political ambitions, risks however reinforcing internal divisions within the majority. And all the more so since the return of David Cameron seems to mark a refocusing, contrasting with certain recent positions taken by Rishi Sunak towards the ultra-conservatives and his attempt to embody change.
David Cameron “has experience […] but I don’t think it’s the best choice for public opinion,” said Alice Kristiansen, 24, interviewed by AFP in the streets of London. “He represents too much of the past and he hasn’t left a good situation for the Tories.”
“He’s a safe personality for temporary work,” says Matt Evans, 50 years old. “I don’t think anyone realistically believes that [les conservateurs] remain in power after the next elections. »
With David Cameron, Rishi Sunak “wants someone with a certain influence on the international scene”, notes Tim Bale, political scientist at Queen Mary University in London. This expert, interviewed by AFP, sees it as an attempt to “distract” from the crisis surrounding Mme Braverman and to seduce the centrist electorate, but says he is “very skeptical” about the success of the maneuver: “It seems hopeless. »
Controversial politics
Events came to a head last week when Suella Braverman, known for her outrageous statements, criticized the London police in an op-ed at the Timesaccusing him of authorizing the pro-Palestinian march held on Saturday and accusing him of bias.
The article had not received the green light from Downing Street, contrary to the usual rules.
These controversial statements added to a series of controversies in recent months: she described the arrivals of refugees as an “invasion” and had, more recently, estimated that some homeless people were sleeping in tents in accordance with a “way of life chosen”.
His departure launched a big additional game of musical chairs, after years of constant instability in power: the Ministers of the Environment and even Health changed.
At the Home Office, Suella Braverman is replaced by the former head of diplomacy James Cleverly, who himself gave way to David Cameron.
This is a crucial position, as Rishi Sunak’s government has made the fight against the arrival of migrants across the Channel on makeshift boats a priority.
James Cleverly will have to assume a very restrictive policy on the right to asylum as well as the British plan criticized by the UN to return illegal migrants, regardless of where they come from, to Rwanda. This measure will face a key test on Wednesday when the Supreme Court rules on its validity.